"IT shews us, that the ground of our "ACCEPTANCE with God is through CHRIST, "whom he hath made a PROPITIATION for "the SINS of the World; and who alone is the “true and Living Way, whereby we may " draw near to God with a true Heart, in full " ASSURANCE of FAITH; having our Hearts “ fprinkled from an evil Confcience. "THROUGH Chrift we understand the "TERMS on which God will shew FA"vour and GRACE to the World; and by "him we have Ground of Access with Free"dom and Boldness unto God. On his Ac count we may hope not only for GRACE to SUBDUE our SINS, RESIST TEMPTATIONS, CONQUER the DEVIL, and the WORLD: but having fought this good Fight, and finished our COURSE, by patient continuance in Welldoing, we may justly look for GLORY, HoNOUR, and IMMORTALITY, and that " CROWN of RIGHTEOUSNESS which is laid up " for those who wait in FAITH, HOLINESS, and HUMILITY, for the appearance of Chrift from "Heaven. "NOW what Things can there be of greater Moment and IMPORTANCE for Men " to KNOW, or God to REVEAL, than the Na"ture of God, and our selves, the State and "CONDITION of our SOULS, the only way to " avoid ETERNAL MISERY, and enjoy EVERLASTING BLISS! "THE Scriptures discover not only Matters of Importance, but of the greatest Depth and Mysteriousness. There are ma f ny ny wonderful Things in the Law of GOD; " Things we may admire, but are never able " to comprehend. “ΤΗΕ Scripture comprehends Matters of "the most universal Satisfaction to the Minds " of Men; though many Things do much " exceed our Apprehenfions, yet others are " most suitable to the Dictates of our Nature. "As the Nature of true HAPPINESS, wherein " it lay, and how to be obtained. "TRUE CONTENTMENT under the TROU" BLES OF LIFE, which the Scripture only ac" quaints us with the true Grounds of; and " all the Prescriptions of Heathen Moralists "fall as much short of, as the Directions of " an Empirick doth of a wife and skilful Phy "fician. “ AVOIDING the FEARS of DEATH, " which can alone be through a grounded Ex"PECTATION of a future State of HAPPINESS, " which Death leads Men to; which cannot " be had but through the right UNDERSTANDING of the WORD OF GOD. "THUS we see the Excellency of the "Matters themselves contained in this REVE"LATION of the Mind of God to the World. "AS the Matters themselves are of an ex"cellent Nature, so is the Manner wherein they are revealed in the Scriptures. And " that, First, IN a clear and perfpicuous Man"ner; not but there may be still some Passa"ges ges which are hard to be understood, as being either Prophetical, or containing Mat"ters above our Comprehenfion; but all those " Things which concern the Terms of Man's SALVATION, are delivered with the greatest " Evidence and Perfpicuity. " “WHO cannot understand what these Things mean? What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE MERCY, and to WALK HUMBLY with thy God? "That without FAITH, it is impossible to PLEASE God; that without HOLINESS, none “ shall fee the Lord; that unless we be born again, we can never ENTER into the KINGDOM of Heaven. These, and such like Things, " are so plain and clear, that it is nothing " but Men's SHUTTING their EYES against the "LIGHT, can keep them from understanding " them. God intended these Things as DrRECTIONS to Men; and is not he able to SPEAK INTELLIGIBLY when he please? He " that made the Tongue, shall he not speak "so as to be understood without an infallible Interpreter? especially, when it is his design to make KNOWN to Men, the TERMS of their ETERNAL HAPPINESS? Will God junge Men at the great Day, for not BELIEVING "those Things which they could not UNDERSTAND? Strange, that ever Men should judge the Scriptures OBSCURE in Matters neceffary, when the Scripture accounts it fo great a JUDGMENT for Men not to UNDERSTAND them. If our Gospel be HID, it is " " bid to them that are loft; in whom the God of “ this World hath BLINDED the Minds of them “which BELIEVE not, left the LIGHT of the GLORIOUS GOSPEL of Chrift should shine unto " them. “ Secondly, IN a powerful and AuthorI"TATIVE Manner: As the Things contained in Scripture do not so much beg acceptance as COMMAND it; in that the Expressions where" in our Duty is concerned, are such as AWE Mens Consciences, and pierce to their "Hearts, and to their fecret Thoughts. Thirdly, IN a pure and unmixed manner: The same Vein of Purity and HOLINESS running through the whole Book of ८८ Fourthly, IN an uniform and agreeable manner. 1. THAT this Doctrine was delivered by Persons who lived in different Ages and "Times from each other. In the sacred Scripture, we read not one Age condemning another; we find LIGHT still increasing in the Series of Time in Scripture, but no Reflections in any time upon the IGNORANCE of "WEAKNESS of the Precedent; the dimmest Light was fufficient for its Age, and was a step to further Discovery. 66 2. By Perfons of different Interests in the " World. “GOD "GOD made choice of Men of all Ranks " to be Enditers of his ORACLES; to make it appear, it was no Matter of State Policy, or " particular Interest, which was contained in "his WORD; which Persons of such different " Interests could not have AGREED in, as they " do. We have Mofes, David, Solomon; Per" sons of ROYAL RANK and QUALITY; and " can it be any mean Thing which these think " it their Glory to be Penners of? We have "Ifaiah, Daniel, and other Persons of the "Highest EDUCATION and ACCOMPLISHMENTS; " and can it be any trivial thing which these " employ themselves in? We have Amos, and " other PROPHETS in the OLD TESTAMENT, " and the APOSTLES in the NEW, of the mean" er fort of Men in the World; yet all these " JOYN in CONSORT together: when God tunes " their SPIRITS, all agree in the same strain of "Divine Truths, and give LIGHT and HarMONY to each other. 3. BY Persons in different Places and "Conditions. "ALL the different Dispensations agree in "the same common Principles of Religion: "the fame Ground of ACCEPTANCE with "God, and OBLIGATION to Duty, was coм MON to all; though the peculiar Instances "wherein God was SERVED might be diffe rent, according to the Ages of Growth in "the Church of God. So that this great UNIFORMITY, confidered in these Circumstances, is an Argument that these things came ori "ginally from the fame SPIRIT, though con |